San Francisco - 18NM West of San Francisco, CA
California, United States
Last wave reading:
Now at the buoy
Significant wave height at the buoy
11.2 ft
3.4 m
- Dominant period
- —
- Direction
- from WNW 283°
Swell
8.9 ft2.7 m
14 sfrom WNW 293°
Wind waves
6.9 ft2.1 m
6.7 sfrom SSE 158°
Long-period groundswell leads: 8.9 ft at 14 s from the WNW, with 6.9 ft of wind waves at 6.7 s from the SSE on top. Holding steady over the last 6 hours.
Significant wave height is the average of the biggest third of waves at the buoy. It is not surf height at a beach.
Trend at the buoy
Height at the buoy
- Total (significant height)
- Swell
- Wind waves
Period
- Swell period
- Wind-wave period
Hourly means of the buoy's readings. Arrows point the way the waves travel.
Model vs the buoy
- Buoy, hourly
- Model, past days
- Model forecast
Over the last 5 days, the model tracked the buoy within 10%.
| Day | Height | Peak period | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Nov 13 | 17.5 ft | 18 s | WNW |
| Sat, Nov 14 | 21.3 ft | 18 s | WNW |
| Sun, Nov 15 | 15.2 ft | 16 s | WNW |
| Mon, Nov 16 | 15.7 ft | 16 s | WNW |
| Tue, Nov 17 | 12.2 ft | 15 s | WNW |
| Wed, Nov 18 | 8.1 ft | 12 s | W |
| Thu, Nov 19 | 8.3 ft | 11 s | WNW |
ECMWF WAM wave model via Open-Meteo, nearest model cell (37.750°N, 122.750°W). Both lines are significant wave height at sea, the same measure the buoy reports. Model output, not a Quiver beach forecast.
Beaches whose Quiver forecast uses this buoy
- Bolinas22 km
Quiver forecast now: 7-8ft
- Stinson Beach24 km
Quiver forecast now: 8-9ft
Beach numbers are each beach's own Quiver forecast, not a conversion of this buoy reading.
Nearby buoys
- San Francisco Bar, CA9.5 ft · 15 sLive · 18 km
- Half Moon Bay - 24NM SSW of San Francisco, CA8.9 ft · 14 sLive · 44 km
- Point Reyes, CA12.5 ft · 13 sLive · 59 km
- Bodega Bay - 48NM NW of San Francisco, CA12.1 ft · 15 sLive · 68 km
- Monterey - 27NM WNW of Monterey, CA10.5 ft · 15 sLive · 114 km
- Monterey Canyon Outer, CA8.2 ft · 15 sLive · 135 km
Nearest tide station: Southeast Farallon Island 15 km for today’s highs and lows.
Other readings
- Water temperature
- 65°F (18.5°C)
- Wind
- 17 kt from the SSW, gusts 21 kt
- Pressure
- 1004.4 hPa
Reported Nov 13, 1:10 AM PST.
How to read this buoy
San Francisco - 18NM West of San Francisco, CA sits 22 km from the closest beach listed here: near enough to show what is arriving, far enough that islands, points and the seabed still change it before it breaks.
Over the readings shown here, most wave energy reached this buoy from the W and NW.
Biggest hourly reading in that record: 14.3 ft on Nov 8.
- Station id
- 46026
- Operator
- NDBC
- Program
- NDBC Meteorological/Ocean
- Position
- 37.750°N, 122.838°W
- Type
- Moored buoy
- Local time zone
- America/Los_Angeles
- Swell split
- Yes, swell and wind waves reported
Source: NOAA National Data Buoy Center (NDBC). Licence: Public domain (US government work). Station page at the source.
Not for navigation. Readings can be late, missing or wrong; check official marine forecasts before going to sea.
Buoy terms
- Significant height
- The average of the biggest third of waves the buoy measured. Sets in the surf zone can be bigger or smaller.
- Dominant period
- Seconds between the waves carrying the most energy. Longer period means more power and more bend around points.
- Swell vs wind waves
- Swell was made by distant wind; wind waves were made nearby. The buoy splits its spectrum at a cutoff period to report each.
- Direction
- Where waves come from, in degrees true. 270° is from the west.
